Printing apparatus that registers to a printing service in response to receipt of an instruction from an administrator when a login function of the printing apparatus is enabled, and related control method and program

ABSTRACT

A printing apparatus that can be registered to a printing service on the Internet includes a processor that executes registration to the printing service in a case in which an administrator, which has successfully logged in to the printing apparatus via an administrator login screen, instructs the registration to the printing service. A user, which is not the administrator, cannot instruct the registration to the printing service in the case in which the login function of the printing apparatus is enabled. In addition, in a case in which the login function is disabled, the display displays a registration screen used for instructing to execute the registration to the printing service, and the at least one processor executes the registration to the printing service in response to the instruction to execute the registration to the printing service.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/574,517, filed on Nov. 16, 2017, which is a U.S. national stageapplication of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2016/003365,filed on Jul. 15, 2016, which claims the benefit of Japanese PatentApplication No. 2015-148034 filed on Jul. 27, 2015, all of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a control method,and a program for the printing apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

In conventional printing services, printing is performed upon a usertransmitting a print job directly to a printing apparatus from a clientterminal, such as a personal computer (PC).

Meanwhile, in recent years, cloud-based printing services on theInternet, such as Google® Cloud Print envisaged by Google Inc., ofMountain View, Calif., United States, have been proposed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence of Google® CloudPrint. It is assumed that a printing apparatus 1010 supports Google®Cloud Print functions, and a client terminal 1000 supports Google® CloudPrint client functions. A cloud-based printing service 1020 represents acloud-based printing service on the Internet.

The user first transmits a cloud-based print service registrationrequest 1110 from the client terminal 1000 to the printing apparatus1010. The registration request 1110 includes a user ID that isinformation that identifies a user who is requesting the service. Uponreceiving the registration request 1110, the printing apparatus 1010transmits a cloud-based printing service registration request 1120 tothe cloud-based printing service 1020. The cloud-based printing serviceregistration request 1120 includes the user ID included in theregistration request 1110 from the client terminal 1000, and a uniqueprinter ID of the printing apparatus 1010. Upon receiving theregistration request 1120 from the printing apparatus 1010, thecloud-based printing service 1020 associates the user ID and the printerID included in the registration request 1120 with each other, andregisters the printing apparatus 1010 as a printing apparatus that canexecute Google® Cloud Print. Then, the cloud-based printing service 1020returns the result of registration to the printing apparatus 1010, usinga cloud-based printing service registration response 1130. Uponreceiving the response 1130, the printing apparatus 1010 returns thecontents of the response 1130, in the form of a cloud-based printingservice registration response 1140, to the client terminal 1000. Uponreceiving the response 1140, the client terminal 1000 recognizes theprinting apparatus 1010 as a printing apparatus that can execute Google®Cloud Print.

Next, the user transmits print data 1150 to a logical printer for thecloud-based printing service 1020 that corresponds to the printingapparatus 1010. In response, the cloud-based printing service 1020converts the print data 1150 thus received into print data 1160 that isformatted to be executable by the printing apparatus 1010. Then, thecloud-based printing service 1020 transmits the print data 1160 thusconverted to the printing apparatus 1010, and, in response, the printingapparatus 1010 executes printing based on the print data 1160 thusreceived. U.S. Pat. No. 8,867,070 discloses the configuration of theabove-described cloud-based printing service.

Usually, administrator authority functions are set to a printingapparatus, and such a printing apparatus is managed by being set up toallow only administrators to change the settings of the printingapparatus (e.g. ON/OFF settings of various print protocols that includecloud-based printing service functions). In the case of a printingapparatus that has been set up in such a manner, a user is requested tolog in to the printing apparatus as an administrator upon the usermaking an attempt to change a setting among various settings of theprinting apparatus from a user interface (UI).

According to the technology disclosed in the above-described U.S. Pat.No. 8,867,070, however, upon a printing apparatus receiving acloud-based printing service registration request from a clientterminal, the printing apparatus immediately transmits a registrationrequest to the cloud-based printing service on the Internet, and theprinting apparatus is thus registered to the service. Such aconfiguration allows non-administrators to execute registration to thecloud-based printing service, and causes inconsistency with a policyrelated to the setting change of the printing apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problem in theabove-described conventional technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention enables realization of technology for performingcontrol to allow an administrator of a printing apparatus to determinewhether or not to execute registration of the printing apparatus to aprinting service on the Internet upon the printing apparatus receiving aregistration request.

In one aspect, the present invention provides a printing apparatus thatcan be registered to a printing service on the Internet, the printingapparatus comprising display means for displaying an administrator loginscreen upon receipt of a request for registration to the printingservice from a client in a case in which a setting of the printingapparatus has required that the registration to the printing service isperformed by an administrator, and registration means for executingregistration to the printing service upon an administrator successfullylogging in to the printing apparatus via the administrator login screen.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a printing apparatusthat can be registered to a printing service on the Internet, theprinting apparatus comprising display means for displaying registrationscreen used for executing registration to the printing service and anadministrator login screen upon receipt of a request for registration tothe printing service from a client in a case in which a systemmanagement setting of the printing apparatus is ON, and registrationmeans for executing the registration to the printing service uponreceiving an instruction to execute registration to the printing servicevia the registration screen and an administrator successfully logging into the printing apparatus via the administrator login screen.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a control methodfor controlling a printing apparatus that can be registered to aprinting service on the Internet, the control method comprisingdisplaying an administrator login screen upon receipt of a request forregistration to the printing service from a client in a case in which asetting of the printing apparatus has required that the registration tothe printing service be performed by an administrator and executing theregistration to the printing service upon an administrator successfullylogging in to the printing apparatus via the administrator login screen.

In addition, in another aspect, the present invention provides a programfor causing a computer to execute steps of a control method forcontrolling a printing apparatus that can be registered to a printingservice on the Internet, the control method comprising displaying anadministrator login screen upon receipt of a request for registration tothe printing service from a client in a case in which a setting of theprinting apparatus has required that the registration to the printingservice be performed by an administrator, and executing the registrationto the printing service upon an administrator successfully logging in tothe printing apparatus via the administrator login screen.

Further features of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The attached drawings are included in the description, constitute a partof the description, illustrate embodiments of the present invention, andare used to describe the principle of the present invention inconjunction with the description of the embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence of Google® CloudPrint.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of aprinting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a softwareconfiguration of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a top view of an operation panel of the printing apparatusaccording to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence of a printingsystem according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed when a printingapparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention receives acloud-based printing service registration request from a client terminal(in a case in which an ID management setting is OFF).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed when theprinting apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present inventionreceives a cloud-based printing service registration request from aclient terminal (in a case in which the ID management setting is ON).

FIG. 8 is a screen transition diagram corresponding to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 6 that shows processing performed by the printingapparatus upon receipt of a cloud-based printing service registrationrequest (in a case in which the ID management setting is OFF).

FIG. 9 is a screen transition diagram corresponding to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 7 that shows processing performed by the printingapparatus upon receipt of the cloud-based printing service registrationrequest (in a case in which the ID management setting is ON).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the printingapparatus according to Embodiment 1 when executing cloud printing.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by a printingapparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the printingapparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an ID management DB held by theprinting apparatus according to Embodiment 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the relativearrangement of the components, the numerical expressions, and thenumerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scopeof the present invention unless it is specifically stated otherwise.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of aprinting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. Here, it is assumed that the printing apparatus 100 isincluded in a system shown in FIG. 5 and described below, and isconnected to a client terminal and a cloud-based printing service via anetwork.

A control unit 201 that includes a central processing unit (CPU) 202controls an overall operation of the printing apparatus 100. The CPU 202reads out a control program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 204 or ahard disk drive (HDD) 214, and performs various kinds of control, suchas communication control. A random access memory (RAM) 203 is used astemporary storage areas, such as a main memory, and a work area for theCPU 202. The HDD 214 stores data, various programs, and variousinformation tables. A printer interface (I/F) 206 serves as an interfacethat outputs an image signal to a printer 207 (a printer engine). Ascanner I/F 208 serves as an interface to which an image signal from ascanner 209 (a scanner engine) is input. At the time of a copyingoperation, the CPU 202 processes an input image signal received via thescanner I/F 208, and outputs the processed signal to the printer I/F 206as a recording image signal. An operation panel I/F 210 connects anoperation panel 211 and the control unit 201 to each other. Theoperation panel 211 is provided with a display unit having touch panelfunctions, and a keyboard. A network I/F 212 transmits information toexternal apparatuses, such as a client terminal and a cloud-basedprinting service, and receives various kinds of information from theexternal apparatuses. The blocks included within the control unit 201are connected to each other via a system bus 205.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a softwareconfiguration of the printing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment.Note that each functional unit shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the CPU202 included in the printing apparatus 100 executing a program that hasbeen loaded from the ROM 204 or the HDD 214 to the RAM 203.

An operation control unit 300 controls the operation panel 211, displaysan operation menu on the operation panel 211, awaits an instruction tobe input from a user, and notifies other functional units of thecontents of the instruction thus received. The operation control unit300 also displays the results of processing that has been executed byother functional units according to the instruction on the operationpanel 211. A registration control unit 301 that controls registration tothe cloud-based printing service analyzes a cloud-based printing serviceregistration request received from a client terminal, and transmits aregistration request to the cloud-based printing service. Theregistration control unit 301 thus controls registration to thecloud-based printing service.

A cloud-based printing control unit 302 performs control to transferprint data that has been received from the cloud-based printing service,together with a print request, to an image processing unit 306. Anidentification (ID) management control unit 303 manages an ID managementsetting stored by a storage unit 305, and a current ID login state. Anadministrator authority control unit 304 manages an administratorauthority setting stored by the storage unit 305. The storage unit 305stores specified data in the RAM 203 or the HDD 214, or reads out datastored therein, according to an instruction from another functionalunit. Examples of data managed by the storage unit 305 include an IDmanagement database (DB) and administrator setting information for theprinting apparatus 100. The image processing unit 306 performsprocessing to generate print image data by performing rendering based ona print job. A printing processing unit 307 performs processing totransmit the image data to the printer 207 as an image signal via theprinter I/F 206, and to cause the printer 207 to perform printing. Theimage data is generated by the image processing unit 306 performingrendering.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the operation panel 211 of the printingapparatus 100 according to the embodiment.

The operation panel 211 has a display unit 405, such as a liquid crystaldisplay, and is also provided with touch panel functions. A copy button401 is a button used for instructing the printing apparatus 100 toperform a copy operation. Upon the user pressing the copy button 401, acopy operation screen is displayed on the display unit 405. FIG. 4 showsa situation in which a copy menu screen is displayed on the display unit405 in response to the copy button 401 being pressed. A FAX button 402is a button used for instructing the printing apparatus 100 to performFAX transmission. Upon the user pressing the FAX button 402, a FAXoperation screen is displayed on the display unit 405. A scan button 403is a button used for instructing the printing apparatus 100 to perform ascan operation. Upon the user pressing the scan button 403, a scanoperation screen is displayed on the display unit 405. A numeric keypad408 is used by the user when inputting a number, or the like. An OK key407 is used by the user when confirming the contents displayed on thedisplay unit 405, for example. Direction keys 406 include move keys usedfor moving a cursor in the upward, downward, left, and right directions,and are used when the user selects a menu, or the like, displayed on thedisplay unit 405. A black-and-white copy key 409 and a color copy key410 are used for making an instruction to start copying in ablack-and-white mode and a color mode, respectively. A stop key 411 isused for stopping processing that is currently being executed. A menukey 412 is used by the user when displaying a menu screen for settingthe printing apparatus 100.

The following describes operations performed by the printing apparatus100 when receiving a cloud-based printing service registration request,described below with reference to FIG. 5, using two embodiments, namelyEmbodiments 1 and 2. Note that Embodiment 2 includes Embodiment 1, and,therefore, a description of Embodiment 2 only refers to the differencefrom Embodiment 1.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing sequence of a printingsystem according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Here, it isassumed that the printing apparatus 100 supports the above-describedGoogle® Cloud Print functions, for example, and a client terminal 101supports Google® Cloud Print client functions. A cloud-based printingservice 102 represents a cloud-based printing service on the Internet.

Here, the user first transmits a cloud-based printing serviceregistration request 111 from the client terminal 101 to the printingapparatus 100. The registration request 111 includes a user ID for theservice. Upon receiving the registration request 111, the printingapparatus 100, in step S501, executes processing shown in FIG. 6 or FIG.7, described below, and in step S502, determines whether or not toexecute registration to the cloud-based printing service 102. Upondetermining not to execute registration, the printing apparatus 100immediately ends processing. Upon determining to execute registration instep S502, the printing apparatus 100 transmits a cloud-based printingservice registration request 112 to the cloud-based printing service102. The cloud-based printing service registration request 112 includesthe user ID included in the registration request 111 from the clientterminal 101, and a unique printer ID of the printing apparatus 100.Upon receiving the registration request 112 from the printing apparatus100, the cloud-based printing service 102 associates the user ID and theprinter ID included in the registration request 112 with each other, andregisters the printing apparatus 100 as a printing apparatus that canexecute Google® Cloud Print. Then, the cloud-based printing service 102returns the result of registration to the printing apparatus 100, usinga cloud-based printing service registration response 113. Upon receivingthe response 113, the printing apparatus 100 returns the contents of theresponse 113 to the client terminal 101, using a cloud-based printingservice registration response 114. Upon receiving the response 114, theclient terminal 101 recognizes the printing apparatus 100 as a printingapparatus that can execute Google® Cloud Print.

Next, the user transmits print data 115 to a logical printer for thecloud-based printing service 102 that corresponds to the printingapparatus 100. Consequently, the cloud-based printing service 102converts the print data 115 thus received into print data 116 that isformatted to be executable by the printing apparatus 100. Then, thecloud-based printing service 102 transmits the print data 116 thusconverted, to the printing apparatus 100, and consequently, the printingapparatus 100 executes printing based on the print data 116 thusreceived.

This concludes an overview of processing according to Embodiment 1 ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed when theprinting apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the presentinvention receives the cloud-based printing service registration request111 from the client terminal 101 (in a case in which an ID managementsetting is OFF). Note that a program used for executing this processingis stored in the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, for example. When theprocessing is to be executed, the program is loaded to the RAM 203, andis then executed under the control of the CPU 202. The processing isthus realized.

This processing is started upon the printing apparatus 100 receiving thecloud-based printing service registration request 111 from the clientterminal 101, and first, in step S601, the CPU 202 determines whetherthe ID management setting is ON or OFF. Processing performed in the casein which the ID management setting is ON is described below withreference to FIG. 7.

Upon determining that the ID management setting is OFF, the CPU 202proceeds to step S602, and determines whether a system managementsetting is ON or OFF. Upon determining that the system managementsetting is OFF, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S603, and displays aGoogle® Cloud Print registration screen 802, as shown in FIG. 8 forexample, on the operation panel 211. Next, the CPU 202 proceeds to stepS605, and determines whether or not a “YES” button 810 on theregistration screen 802 has been pressed. Upon determining that the“YES” button 810 has been pressed, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S607.The “YES” button 810 is used for making an instruction to continueregistration. In step S607, the CPU 202 transmits the cloud-basedprinting service registration request 112 to the cloud-based printingservice 102, thereby executing registration to the cloud-based printingservice 102, and ends this processing. Upon determining in step S605that a “NO” button 811 has been pressed, the CPU 202 immediately endsthis processing. Processing performed in this case is the same as theconventional processing described above with reference to FIG. 1.

Upon determining that the system management setting is ON in step S602,the CPU 202 proceeds to step S604, and displays the Google® Cloud Printregistration screen 802, shown in FIG. 8, for example, on the operationpanel 211. Next, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S606, and determineswhether or not the “YES” button 810 on the registration screen 802 hasbeen pressed. Upon determining that the “YES” button 810 has beenpressed, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S608. The “YES” button 810 is usedfor making an instruction to continue registration. In step S608, theCPU 202 displays a system administrator login screen 804, shown in FIG.8, for example, on the operation panel 211. The administrator inputs anadministrator ID and a password from the system administrator loginscreen 804.

Next, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S609, and determines whether or notthe user (the administrator) has successfully logged in to the printingapparatus 100. Upon determining that the user has been successfullylogged in to the printing apparatus 100, the CPU 202 proceeds to stepS610. In step S610, the CPU 202 transmits the cloud-based printingservice registration request 112 to the cloud-based printing service102, thereby executing registration to the cloud-based printing service102, and ends this processing. Upon determining in step S609 that theuser has failed to log in to the printing apparatus 100, the CPU 202immediately ends the processing. Also, upon determining in step S606that the “NO” button 811 on the registration screen 802 has beenpressed, the CPU 202 immediately ends the processing.

As described above, in the case in which the ID management setting isOFF, i.e., in the case in which processing to be executed does not varydepending on the user ID, if the system management setting is OFF, i.e.,if a user that is not an administrator is allowed to executeregistration, the Google® Cloud Print registration screen is displayedso that the user can execute registration. On the other hand, if thesystem management setting is ON, i.e., if registration is only allowedfor an administrator who has logged in to the printing apparatus 100,the CPU 202 displays the login screen 804 upon being instructed toexecute registration on the registration screen 802, and registration tothe cloud-based printing service 102 becomes executable only after theadministrator successfully logs in to the printing apparatus 100. Thus,even if the ID management setting is OFF, registration to thecloud-based printing service 102 becomes executable on condition thatthe user logs in to the printing apparatus 100 as a systemadministrator.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed when theprinting apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the presentinvention receives the cloud-based printing service registration request111 from the client terminal 101 (in a case in which the ID managementsetting is ON). Note that a program used for executing this processingis stored in the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, for example. When theprocessing is to be executed, the program is loaded to the RAM 203, andis then executed under the control of the CPU 202. The processing isthus realized. This processing is executed when it is determined in stepS601, shown in FIG. 6, that the ID management setting is ON.

First, in step S702, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the printingapparatus 100 is in a log-in state (i.e. a user has logged in to theprinting apparatus 100). Here, upon determining that the printingapparatus 100 is in a non-login state (i.e. a user has not logged in tothe printing apparatus 100), the CPU 202 proceeds to step S703, displaysa login request message screen 905, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, onthe operation panel 211, and ends this processing. On the other hand,upon determining in step S702 that the printing apparatus 100 is in thelogin state, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S704, and determines whetherthe system management setting is ON or OFF. Here, upon determining thatthe system management setting is OFF, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S705,and displays a Google® Cloud Print registration screen 902, as shown inFIG. 9, for example, on the operation panel 211. Next, the CPU 202proceeds to step S706, and determines whether or not a “YES” button 910on the registration screen 902 has been pressed. The “YES” button 910 isused for making an instruction to execute registration. Upon determiningthat the “YES” button 910 has been pressed, the CPU 202 proceeds to stepS707, and transmits the cloud-based printing service registrationrequest 112 to the cloud-based printing service 102, thereby executingcloud-based printing service registration. Upon determining in step S706that a “NO” button 911 has been pressed, the CPU 202 immediately endsthis processing.

Upon determining in step S704 that the system management setting is ON,the CPU 202 proceeds to step S708, and determines whether or not theuser has logged in to the printing apparatus 100 as a systemadministrator. Here, upon determining that the user has not logged in tothe printing apparatus 100 as a system administrator, the CPU 202proceeds to step S709, and displays, for example, a message screen 904,shown in FIG. 9, on the operation panel 211, requesting the user to login to the printing apparatus 100 as a system administrator, and endsthis processing.

Upon determining in step S708 that the user has logged in to theprinting apparatus 100 as a system administrator, the CPU 202 proceedsto step S710, and displays the Google® Cloud Print registration screen902, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, on the operation panel 211. Next,the CPU 202 proceeds to step S711, and determines whether or not the“YES” button 910 on the registration screen 902 has been pressed. The“YES” button 910 is used for making an instruction to executeregistration. Upon determining that the “YES” button 910 has beenpressed, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S712, and transmits thecloud-based printing service registration request 112 to the cloud-basedprinting service 102, thereby executing registration to the cloud-basedprinting service 102, and ends this processing. Upon determining in stepS711 that the “NO” button 911 has been pressed, the CPU 202 immediatelyends this processing.

As described above, in the case in which the ID management setting isON, i.e., in the case in which processing to be executed variesdepending on the user ID, if the system management setting is OFF, i.e.,if a user that is not an administrator is allowed to executeregistration, the Google® Cloud Print registration screen is displayedso that the user can execute registration.

If the system management setting is ON, i.e., if registration is onlyallowed for an administrator who has logged in to the printing apparatus100, upon an instruction to execute registration being input from theregistration screen 902, the CPU 202 displays the screen 904 forrequesting the user to log in to the printing apparatus 100 as a systemadministrator. Thus, if the ID management setting is ON and the systemmanagement setting is OFF, the login user can execute registration tothe cloud-based printing service 102. If the system management settingis ON, the user is allowed to execute registration to the cloud-basedprinting service 102 only after logging in to the printing apparatus 100as a system administrator.

FIG. 8 is a screen transition diagram corresponding to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 6 that shows processing performed by the printingapparatus 100 upon receipt of the cloud-based printing serviceregistration request 111 (in a case in which the ID management settingis OFF).

A screen 801 is an initial screen for copying that is displayed when thecopy button 401 of the printing apparatus 100 is pressed. Upon theprinting apparatus 100 receiving the cloud-based printing servicerequest 111 from the client terminal 101, the CPU 202 displays theGoogle® Cloud Print registration screen 802 on the display unit 405 ofthe operation panel 211. Upon the user selecting the “NO” button 811 onthe Google® Cloud Print registration screen 802, the CPU 202 displaysthe default screen 801 again. On the other hand, upon the user selectingthe “YES” button 810 on the Google® Cloud Print registration screen 802,the CPU 202 displays a Google® Cloud Print registration start screen 803on the display unit 405 if the system management setting is OFF. Then,the CPU 202 executes registration of the printing apparatus 100 to thecloud-based printing service 102.

If the system management setting is ON, the CPU 202 displays the systemadministrator login screen 804 on the display unit 405 of the operationpanel 211. Upon the user (administrator) successfully logging in to theprinting apparatus 100 from the system administrator login screen 804,the CPU 202 displays the Google® Cloud Print registration start screen803 on the display unit 405, and registers the printing apparatus 100 tothe cloud-based printing service 102.

FIG. 9 is a screen transition diagram corresponding to the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 7 that shows processing performed by the printingapparatus 100 upon receipt of the cloud-based printing serviceregistration request 111 (in a case in which the ID management settingis ON).

A screen 906 is a default screen for the case in which the user has notlogged in to the printing apparatus 100. Upon the user logging in to theprinting apparatus 100, the CPU 202 displays a default screen 901 forthe case in which the user has logged in to the printing apparatus 100,on the display unit 405 of the operation panel 211. In a situation inwhich the screen 906, for the case in which the user has not logged into the printing apparatus 100, is being displayed, the printingapparatus 100 receives the cloud-based printing service registrationrequest 111 from the client terminal 101. Consequently, the CPU 202displays the login request message screen 905 on the display unit 405 ofthe operation panel 211. The screen 905 notifies the user of the factthat processing responding to the cloud-based printing serviceregistration request 111 cannot be executed because the user has notlogged in to the printing apparatus 100. Furthermore, if the systemmanagement setting is ON, logging in by a system administrator isrequested.

Also, in a situation in which the default screen 901, for the case inwhich the user has logged in to the printing apparatus 100, is beingdisplayed, if the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud-basedprinting service registration request 111 from the client terminal 101,the CPU 202 determines whether or not the user who has logged in to theprinting apparatus 100 has administrator authority. Upon determiningthat the user who has logged in to the printing apparatus 100 hasadministrator authority, the CPU 202 displays the Google® Cloud Printregistration screen 902 on the operation panel 211. Upon the userselecting the “NO” button 911 on the Google® Cloud Print registrationscreen 902, the CPU 202 displays the default screen 901 for the case inwhich the user has logged in to the printing apparatus 100, on theoperation panel 211. On the other hand, upon the user selecting the“YES” button 910 on the Google® Cloud Print registration screen 902, theCPU 202 displays a Google® Cloud Print registration start screen 903 onthe operation panel 211. Then, the CPU 202 starts registration of theprinting apparatus 100 to the cloud-based printing service 102.

In a situation in which the default screen 901, for the case in whichthe user has logged in to the printing apparatus 100, is beingdisplayed, if the printing apparatus 100 receives the cloud-basedprinting service registration request 111 and the login user does nothave administrator authority, the CPU 202 displays the login requestmessage screen 904 on the display unit 405. The login request messagescreen 904 requests a system administrator to log in to the printingapparatus 100.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the printingapparatus 100 according to Embodiment 1 when executing cloud printing.Note that a program used for executing this processing is stored in theROM 204 or the HDD 214, for example. When the processing is to beexecuted, the program is loaded to the RAM 203, and is then executedunder the control of the CPU 202. The processing is thus realized.

Once the printing apparatus 100 has been registered to the cloud-basedprinting service 102, the CPU 202 is connected to the cloud-basedprinting service 102 using Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol(XMPP) in order to receive a job reception notification from thecloud-based printing service 102. The CPU 202 thereafter remains in thisstate. Upon receiving the print data 115 from the client terminal 101,the cloud-based printing service 102 notifies the printing apparatus 100of the reception of the job, using XMPP. Thus, processing indicated bythe flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is started.

First, in step S1001, the CPU 202 receives a job reception notificationthat notifies the CPU 202 of the reception of jobs by the cloud-basedprinting service 102. Next, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S1002, connectsto the cloud-based printing service 102 using Hypertext TransferProtocol (HTTP), and obtains a job list. Processing performed in stepsS1004 and S1005, following step S1003, is repeated the number of timesthat is equal to the number of jobs included in the job list. In stepS1004, the CPU 202 connects to the cloud-based printing service 102using HTTP, and downloads print data specified by the corresponding jobfrom the cloud-based printing service 102. Next, the CPU 202 proceeds tostep S1005, and transfers the print data thus downloaded, to the imageprocessing unit 306. In step S1006, the CPU 202 causes the imageprocessing unit 306 to execute image processing on the print data. Thus,in step S1006, the image processing unit 306 converts the print datainto data that can be printed by the printing apparatus 100. Then, theCPU 202 proceeds to step S1007, and outputs the print data that hasundergone image processing to the printer 207 via the printer I/F 206.Thus, the print data is printed. Processing performed between step S1003and step S1008 is repeated the number of times that is equal to thenumber of jobs included in the job list obtained in step S1002.

The user of the client terminal 101 is thus able to execute printing viathe cloud-based printing service 102, using the printing apparatus 100registered to the cloud-based printing service 102.

Embodiment 2

Next, a description is given of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.Embodiment 2 provides further convenience to the user by omitting thelogin processing from Embodiment 1. Embodiment 2 includes Embodiment 1,and the difference from Embodiment 1 lies in the processing after “NO”in step S702 and step S708 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 7. Inthis processing according to Embodiment 1, the CPU 202 displays amessage screen in each of steps S703 and S709, and then ends theprocessing. According to Embodiment 2, however, the CPU 202 is enabledto execute registration to the cloud-based printing service 102 in aparticular case. This feature is described below. Note that theconfigurations of the printing system and the printing apparatus 100according to Embodiment 2 are the same as those according to Embodiment1 above, and a description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the printingapparatus 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Thisflowchart illustrates processing performed after the CPU 202 hasdetermined in the negative (“NO”, i.e., the printing apparatus 100 isnot in the login state) in step S702 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7according to Embodiment 1 above. Note that a program used for executingthis processing is stored in the ROM 204 or the HDD 214, for example.When the processing is to be executed, the program is loaded to the RAM203, and is then executed under the control of the CPU 202. Theprocessing is thus realized.

First, in step S1101, the CPU 202 reads out an ID management database(DB) 1300 (FIG. 13) stored in the storage unit 305. Then, the CPU 202proceeds to step S1102, and determines whether or not the user IDincluded in the cloud-based printing service registration request 111 isincluded in Google® Cloud Print user IDs in the ID management DB 1300.Upon determining that the user ID is included in the ID management DB1300, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the user has systemadministrator authority. Upon determining that the user has systemadministrator authority, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S1103, anddisplays, for example, the Google® Cloud Print registration start screen903 on the display unit 405. Then, the CPU 202 transmits the cloud-basedprinting service registration request 112 to the cloud-based printingservice 102, thereby executing cloud-based printing serviceregistration.

On the other hand, upon determining in step S1102 that the user does nothave system administrator authority, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S1104,displays, for example, the login request message screen 905 shown inFIG. 9 on the display unit 405 of the operation panel 211, and ends thisprocessing.

Due to the above-described processing being performed, registration tothe cloud-based printing service 102 can be executed if the user whomade a registration request from the client terminal 101 has systemadministrator authority of the printing apparatus 100, even if the userhas not logged in to the printing apparatus 100.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by the printingapparatus 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Thisflowchart illustrates processing performed after the CPU 202 hasdetermined in the negative (“NO”, i.e., a user who is not a systemadministrator has logged in to the printing apparatus 100) in step S708of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 according to Embodiment 1. Note that aprogram used for executing this processing is stored in the ROM 204 orthe HDD 214, for example. When the processing is to be executed, theprogram is loaded to the RAM 203, and is then executed under the controlof the CPU 202. The processing is thus realized.

First, in step S1201, the CPU 202 reads out the ID management DB 1300stored in the storage unit 305. Then, the CPU 202 proceeds to stepS1202, and performs a search in order to determine whether or not theuser ID included in the cloud-based printing service registrationrequest 111 from the client terminal 101 is included in Google® CloudPrint user IDs that are listed in the ID management DB 1300. Upondetermining that the user ID is included in the ID management DB 1300,the CPU 202 determines whether or not the user has system administratorauthority. Upon determining that the user has system administratorauthority, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S1203, and transmits thecloud-based printing service registration request 112 to the cloud-basedprinting service 102, thereby executing registration to the cloud-basedprinting service 102.

Upon determining in step S1202 that the user does not have systemadministrator authority, the CPU 202 proceeds to step S1204. In stepS1204, the CPU 202 displays, for example, the login request messagescreen 904 shown in FIG. 9 on the display unit 405, requesting the userto log in to the printing apparatus 100 as a system administrator, andends this processing.

Due to the above-described processing being performed, even if a userwho is not an administrator has logged in to the printing apparatus 100,registration to the cloud-based printing service 102 can be executeddepending on the authority of the user of the client terminal 101. Thatis to say, registration to the cloud-based printing service 102 can beexecuted if the user of the client terminal 101 is a user who hasauthority to execute registration to the cloud-based printing service102 and has system administrator authority for the printing apparatus100.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the ID management DB 1300 held by theprinting apparatus 100 according to Embodiment 2.

The ID management DB 1300 is a database for managing the ID informationof users, and is stored in the storage unit 305. The ID informationincludes a user name 1301, a Google® Cloud Print user ID 1302, andsystem administrator authority 1303. The user name 1301 is a user ID foruniquely identifying a user of the printing apparatus 100. The Google®Cloud Print user ID 1302 is a user ID that is associated with the username 1301 and indicates that the user has authority to executeregistration to Google® Cloud Print. The system administrator authority1303 indicates whether or not the corresponding user has systemadministrator authority. As described above, since the user ID, thecloud-based printing service user ID that is allowed to executeregistration to the cloud-based printing service, and the presence orabsence of administrator authority are stored in association with eachother, whether or not to execute registration to the cloud-basedprinting service can be determined based only on the user ID.

Other Embodiments

Embodiments of the present invention can also be realized by a computerof a system or an apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (that may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiments and/or thatincludes one or more circuits (e.g., an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of theabove-described embodiments, and by a method performed by the computerof the system or the apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiments and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiments. Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., a central processingunit (CPU), or a micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a networkof separate computers or separate processors to read out and to executethe computer executable instructions. The computer executableinstructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from anetwork or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, forexample, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, anoptical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc(DVD), or a Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card,and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

I claim:
 1. A printing apparatus that can be registered to a printingservice on the Internet, the printing apparatus comprising: (A) adisplay that displays: (a) a registration screen used for instructing toexecute registration to the printing service; and (b) an administratorlogin screen upon receipt of a request for registration to the printingservice from a client in a case in which a login function of theprinting apparatus is enabled; (B) a memory device that stores a set ofinstructions; (C) at least one processor that executes instructions, ofthe set of instructions, to execute the registration to the printingservice, in a case in which an administrator, which has successfullylogged in to the printing apparatus via the administrator login screen,instructs the registration to the printing service, wherein a user,which is not the administrator, cannot instruct the registration to theprinting service in the case in which the login function of the printingapparatus is enabled, and (D) an identification (ID) management settingconfigured to be switched ON and OFF, wherein, in a case in which thelogin function is disabled, the display displays the registration screenused for instructing to execute the registration to the printingservice, and the at least one processor executes the registration to theprinting service in response to the instruction to execute theregistration to the printing service, wherein the at least one processorfurther executes the instructions: (i) to determine whether the IDmanagement setting is ON or OFF; and (ii) to cause the display todisplay the administrator login screen, wherein the at least oneprocessor executes the registration to the printing service in a case inwhich the at least one processor determines that the ID managementsetting is OFF.
 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,upon receipt of the request for the registration to the printing servicefrom the client, the at least one processor executes registration to theprinting service without the administrator logging in to the printingapparatus via the administrator login screen, in the case in which thelogin function is disabled.
 3. The printing apparatus according to claim1, wherein, in a case in which the at least one processor determinesthat the ID management setting is ON, the at least one processor causesthe display to display the administrator login screen and executes theregistration to the printing service on a condition that the user haslogged in to the printing apparatus.
 4. The printing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein, in a case in which the at least one processordetermines that the ID management setting is ON, and in the case inwhich the login function of the printing apparatus is enabled, the atleast one processor executes the registration to the printing service ona condition that the administrator has logged in to the printingapparatus.
 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising (E) a storage unit that stores a user ID and a presence or anabsence of administrator authority in association with each other,wherein, upon receipt of the request for registration to the printingservice from a user of the client, the at least one processor executesthe registration to the printing service, without an administratorlogging in to the printing apparatus via the administrator login screen,if the presence of administrator authority is stored in the storage unitin association with a user ID of the user of the client.
 6. The printingapparatus according to claim 5, wherein, in a case in which the at leastone processor determines that the ID management setting is ON, the atleast one processor executes the registration to the printing service,without the administrator logging in to the printing apparatus via theadministrator login screen, in a case in which the presence ofadministrator authority is stored in the storage unit in associationwith a user ID of the user of the client.
 7. The printing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor executes theregistration to the printing service in response to the instructionbeing provided via the registration screen.
 8. The printing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor furtherexecutes instructions: (i) to receive a job reception notification fromthe printing service; (ii) to request a job list from the printingservice in response to receipt of the job reception notification; (iii)to download print data that corresponds to a job included in the joblist transmitted by the printing service responding to the request; and(iv) to execute printing of the downloaded print data.
 9. A controlmethod for controlling a printing apparatus that can be registered to aprinting service on the Internet, the method comprising: displaying aregistration screen used for instructing to execute registration to theprinting service, and an administrator login screen, upon receipt of arequest for registration to the printing service from a client, in acase in which a login function of the printing apparatus is enabled;executing the registration to the printing service, in a case in whichan administrator, which has successfully logged in to the printingapparatus via the administrator login screen, instructs the registrationto the printing service, wherein a user, which is not the administrator,cannot instruct the registration to the printing service in the case inwhich the login function of the printing apparatus is enabled;displaying, in a case in which the login function is disabled, theregistration screen used for instructing to execute the registration tothe printing service, and executing registration to the printing servicein response to the instruction to execute the registration to theprinting service, determining whether an identification (ID) managementsetting is ON or OFF; and displaying the administrator login screen,wherein the registration to the printing service is executed in a casein which it is determined that the ID management setting is OFF.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program forcausing a computer to execute steps of a control method for controllinga printing apparatus that can be registered to a printing service on theInternet, the control method comprising: displaying a registrationscreen used for instructing to execute registration to the printingservice, and an administrator login screen, upon receipt of a requestfor registration to the printing service from a client, in a case inwhich a login function of the printing apparatus is enabled; executingthe registration to the printing service, in a case in which anadministrator, which has successfully logged in to the printingapparatus via the administrator login screen, instructs the registrationto the printing service, wherein a user, which is not the administrator,cannot instruct the registration to the printing service in a case inwhich the login function of the printing apparatus is enabled;displaying, in a case in which the login function is disabled, theregistration screen used for instructing to execute the registration tothe printing service, and executing registration to the printing servicein response to the instruction to execute the registration to theprinting service, determining whether an identification (ID) managementsetting is ON or OFF; and displaying the administrator login screen,wherein the registration to the printing service is executed in a casein which it is determined that the ID management setting is OFF.
 11. Aprinting apparatus communicating with a printing service transmittingprint data to a registered printer via an Internet, and a clientterminal, the printing apparatus comprising: a display; a memory devicethat stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor thatexecutes the set of instructions to: manage, as a user ID of a loginuser to the printing apparatus, user IDs of at least two userscomprising a user having administrator authority and a user not havingadministrator authority; receive, from the client terminal, a requestfor printer registration; display, on the display, a registration screenfor accepting an approval instruction for the request received from theclient terminal; and execute a printer registration request processregistering the printing apparatus with the printing service by approvalof the request, wherein a user who performs an operation for registeringthe printing apparatus performs two operations before the printingapparatus executes the printer registration request process, the twooperations including a first operation for causing the client totransmit the request for printer registration and a second operation forapproving the request, wherein the printer registration request processtriggered by the approval of the request can be executed only by a userwho can log in to the printing apparatus as the user havingadministrator authority by a login function of the printing apparatus.12. The printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the printerregistration request process triggered by the approval of the requestcannot be executed by a user who cannot log in to the printing apparatusas the user having the administrator authority by the login function ofthe printing apparatus.
 13. The printing apparatus according to claim11, wherein in a case where receiving the request, the at least oneprocessor displays, on the display, the registration screen from a statein which a copy menu screen is displayed on the display.
 14. Theprinting apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the copy menu screenis a default screen when a user logs in.
 15. The printing apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein the request received from the clientterminal includes a user ID for the printing service, and the at leastone processor executes the printer registration request process forregistering, with the printing service, the user ID included in therequest together with the printing apparatus.
 16. The printing apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein the display is capable of accepting atouch operation, and the registration screen displayed on the displayincludes a soft key of accepting the approval instruction for therequest by the touch operation.
 17. The printing apparatus according toclaim 11, wherein the at least one processor stores, in the memory,administrator authority, a user ID for a login user of the printingapparatus, and a user ID for the printing service in association witheach other.
 18. The printing apparatus according to claim 11, whereinthe at least one processor returns the display to a screen prior toreceiving the request in a case where the user having the administratorauthority has not logged in.
 19. A control method for controlling aprinting apparatus communicating with a printing service transmittingprint data to a registered printer via an Internet, and a clientterminal, the method comprising: managing, as a user ID of a login userto the printing apparatus, user IDs of at least two users comprising auser having administrator authority and a user not having administratorauthority; receiving, from the client terminal, a request for printerregistration; displaying, on the display, a registration screen foraccepting an approval instruction for the request received from theclient terminal; and executing a printer registration request processregistering the printing apparatus with the printing service by approvalof the request, wherein a user who performs an operation for registeringthe printing apparatus performs two operations before the printingapparatus executes the printer registration request process, the twooperations including a first operation for causing the client totransmit the request for printer registration and a second operation forapproving the request, wherein the printer registration request processtriggered by the approval of the request can be executed only by a userwho can log in to the printing apparatus as the user havingadministrator authority by a login function of the printing apparatus.20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a programfor causing a computer to execute steps of a control method forcontrolling a printing apparatus communicating with a printing servicetransmitting print data to a registered printer via an Internet, and aclient terminal, the method comprising: managing, as a user ID of alogin user to the printing apparatus, user IDs of at least two userscomprising a user having administrator authority and a user not havingadministrator authority; receiving, from the client terminal, a requestfor printer registration; displaying, on the display, a registrationscreen for accepting an approval instruction for the request receivedfrom the client terminal; and executing a printer registration requestprocess registering the printing apparatus with the printing service byapproval of the request, wherein a user who performs an operation forregistering the printing apparatus performs two operations before theprinting apparatus executes the printer registration request process,the two operations including a first operation for causing the client totransmit the request for printer registration and a second operation forapproving the request, wherein the printer registration request processtriggered by the approval of the request can be executed only by a userwho can log in to the printing apparatus as the user havingadministrator authority by a login function of the printing apparatus.21. A print system comprising a printing service transmitting print datato a registered printer via an Internet, a client terminal, and aprinter, the print system comprising: a memory device that stores a setof instructions; and at least one processor that executes the set ofinstructions to: manage, as a user ID of a login user to the printer,user IDs of at least two users comprising a user having administratorauthority and a user not having administrator authority; receive, fromthe client terminal, a request for printer registration; display aregistration screen for accepting an approval instruction for therequest received from the client terminal; and execute a printerregistration request process registering the printer with the printingservice by approval of the request, wherein a user who performs anoperation for registering the printer performs two operations before theprinter executes the printer registration request process, the twooperations including a first operation for causing the client totransmit the request for printer registration and a second operation forapproving the request, wherein the printer registration request processtriggered by the approval of the request can be executed only by a userwho can log in to the printer as the user having administrator authorityby a login function of the printer.